Saturday, December 8, 2012

Like Father, Like Son

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

This villain has had a lonnnnnng history, but his claim to fame is by association as much as the rep he's established on his own. In this guise, as the Phoenix, Helmut Zemo (the son of the original Baron Heinrich Zemo) carried out a vendetta against Captain America, whom he believed had ruined his father's life long before he battled him to the death. Baron Zemo had been forced to wear a mask to hide his identity, due to a U.S. propaganda campaign connected with Zemo's invention of a prototype laser weapon. But it was his later invention, Adhesive X, which would drive the Baron mad and alienate him from his family, due to an attack by Cap during the war:

When Helmut grew to manhood and later discovered that his father had died in another battle with Cap, he put his plan of revenge into motion:

And, luring Cap into a trap, he finally revealed his identity to a nemesis who had never seen him before:

But his plan to lower Cap alive into a boiling vat of Adhesive X was foiled by the arrival of the Falcon, who tears into Zemo without knowing either his history or identity. When Cap manages to break free of his bonds and rushes to pull Falcon back and fill him in, Zemo grabs Cap's nearby shield--and history repeats itself, in a very twisted fashion:

Amazingly, Zemo survived, though is face was horribly scarred as a result--and his hatred guided his actions in future appearances. And man, did this guy have a lot of future appearances, most notably during the siege of Avengers Mansion and another confrontation with Cap. His history has now become so convoluted that where he appears next is anyone's guess.